Ballet Manila dances to The Dawn
MANILA, Philippines — The Dawn and prima ballerina Lisa Macuja-Elizalde, together with Ballet Manila, joined forces to celebrate their respective 40th anniversaries with a show fusing ballet and rock music.
Dubbed “The Dawn of Ballet,” Ballet Manila will bring to life — through dance — the iconic hit songs of the Filipino rock band on Feb. 20 and 21 at 8 p.m. at the Aliw Theater.
The two-night free show is being presented as part of the “Ballet & Ballads” series and produced by Manila Broadcasting Company. “Ballet & Ballads” was the brainchild of Fred J. Elizalde in the early years of Ballet Manila.
Lisa recalled in an interview that the tie-up started when the fan of The Dawn and an OPM advocate, Kai Magsanoc, attended one of their “Ballet & Ballads” shows. “She was the one who watched one of our ‘Ballet & Ballads’ shows. I believe it was with Shamrock, and then she was the one who said The Dawn is celebrating their 40th year. ‘Why don’t we do Ballet & Ballads together?’ That was last year. So it was just perfect. Really perfect. I’m really happy that it’s happening.”
It’s the first time that The Dawn and Ballet Manila will be teaming up for an event.
“‘The Dawn of Ballet’ is different because it’s a ballet and ballads,” remarked Lisa. “Before, it was a standalone ballet number, then the singer would come out and sing. And then another ballet number, and then the singer. And at the end, the ballet dancers will dance with the singer on stage for the finale.
“And then it evolved into ballet, ballet, ballet. And then the band would come on — it was Shamrock, different bands; Side A was there as well — and then the finale. After the band did five songs, the finale would be the dancers.”
There was also a time when they had solo artists performing while ballet dancers appeared intermittently, as in their collaborations with Basil Valdez, Ariel Rivera, Jaya, Lani Misalucha and other artists, Lisa continued.
“This one is different because we’re not having a standalone ballet number. It’s literally The Dawn. And I hate to say backup dancers because we’re not backup dancers — it’s a collaboration. And it’s not, to use the usual term, hip-hop dancing,” she noted.
“It’s contemporary dance. It’s very athletic, dynamic. The movements are also grounded, and it’s very expressive. What we hope to be able to do is tell the stories of the eight different songs of The Dawn through dance.”
The Dawn members Jett Pangan, JB Leonor, Francis Reyes, Sancho Sanchez and Bim Yance were the ones who personally chose the songs for Ballet Manila to perform.
Jett shared that aside from “The Dawn of Ballet,” they will be embarking on Australian and New Zealand tours from April to May, staging their anniversary concert, “Kwarenta,” on June 27 at The Theater at Solaire, and mounting a gig in Singapore.
“We continue writing music. We also want this ballet concert to be part of our celebration, especially since Miss Lisa reiterated that this is a free show. We also want to give back,” Jett said.
Meanwhile, 40 years ago, Lisa left her burgeoning career at the Kirov Ballet (now the Mariinsky Ballet) in Moscow and returned to the country with the goal of making classical ballet more accessible to the general public.
The artistic director and principal dancer of Ballet Manila, Lisa marked her homecoming milestone through Ballet Manila’s PRIMA Performance Season, “a curated program of classical works that highlight the company’s Vaganova roots and its commitment to sustaining excellence while making ballet accessible to Filipinos.”
“Forty years ago, I came home with a mission to make ballet part of Filipino life. To see that vision continue through Ballet Manila and the PRIMA Performance Season is deeply meaningful not just for me but for everyone in the company. It proves that ballet can endure, adapt, and belong to everyone,” Lisa shared.
The programs of the PRIMA Performance Season will feature various productions such as “Sleeping Beauty” on March 14 and 15 at the Aliw Theater, accompanied by the Manila Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Maestro Alexander Vikulov; “Paquita” on June 20 and 21; and will culminate with “La Bayadère” on Aug. 22 and 23, featuring Renata Shakirova and Kimin Kim of the Mariinsky Ballet, who made their Philippine debut in 2025 with “Don Quixote.”
The organization will also mount “Ibong Adarna” in Dumaguete this month and at Ateneo’s Areté in October, an international tour in Kuala Lumpur in September, and the “Holiday Cheer Series” in December.
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